Portable deck



PORTABLE DECK Filed Sept. 3, 1941 FIE-1-1- fawenlofx 655410 QeEZ/A/(H,

Patented Feb. 9, 1943 7 PORTABLE DECK Gerald G. Greulich, Mount Lebanon, Pa., assignor to Carnegie-Illinois Steel Corporation, Pittsburgh, Pa., a corporation of New Jersey Application September 3, 1941, Serial No. 409,417

2 Claims.

- tion to provide a portable deck of the type referred to which may be readily fabricated from rolled metallic plates and made to embody integral interlocking devices of such construction as not only to enable the ready erection and dismantling of the deck, but also to eliminate bolts, rivets, welding, or other extraneous securing instrumentalities.

Another object is the provision of a device of the class described which in either erection or dismantling does not require skilled labor or the use of any tools whatsoever. 7

Another object is to provide a portable deck of the class described which is composed of units which may easily be stacked or nested and transported in the form of bundles.

The foregoing and other objects will be more apparent after referring to the accompanying drawing, in which:

Figure 1 is a fragmentary end elevation;

Figure 2 is a fragmentary elevation illustrating the manner of operation of the interlocks,

. and

Figure 3 is a fragmentary plan.

Referring more particularly to the drawing, the numeral I designates the webs of a number of identical plates which are assembled and secured together to provide the portable deck of e presem; invention. As shown in the draw a. the webs I are substantially straight and of uniform thickness. At each edge of the web I there is provided an offset flange, as shown at 2, and 3, the said flanges occupying substantially the same plane and extending in parallelism with the plane of the web. On the outer edge of the flange 2 there is carried a continuous short right-angular flange 4; while the outer edge of the oflset flange 3 is provided with an upward semi-circular portion 5 and a lower semi-circular portion 6 which is similar to the former but provided with an overshot portion 1. In installation the offset flanges 2 and 3 rest upon the supporting surface or ground on which the portable deck is to rest.

Referring more particularly to Figure 1, it will be perceived that when the plates occupy their ultimate positions, the ends thereof embodying the upward extensions 4 which seat in the semicircular portions 5 and 6 of the next adjacent plates may contact with the latter at two points; one being the inner edge of the end of the upward extension 4 which bears against the inner surface of the semi-circular portion 5, and the other being the bottom of the offset flange 2 at a point adjacent the upward extension 4 which rests upon the inner edge of the end of overshot portion I. This condition makes for extreme rigidity and eliminates rattling, or materially reduces the rattling of the plates, when the portable deck is inservice.

As shown in Figure 1, the semi-circular portions 5 and 6 provide a groove 9 and are substantially symmetrically disposed in ofiset relationship with respect to the flange 2. The shape of the web I, oifset flanges 2 and 3, short right angular extension 4 and semi-circular portions 5 and 6 are such as may be readily rolled in mills of existing design.

In assembling the portable deck of the present invention, it is only necessary to begin with a 'plate lying on the supporting surface or ground and to connect thereto the succeeding plates by means of disposing within the grooves 9 of the first-named plate the relatively short upward extension 4 ofthe next plate when the latter is in an approximately relationship with respect to its ultimate position and to rotate thesecondnamed plate until the ofl'set flange 2 thereof is in substantial alignment with the offset flange 3 of the first-named plate. The units are made up in single lengths of desired'width. The units in the first row are laid end to end, and the second and succeeding rows are interlocked to the preceding row. Preferably a staggered relationship is carried out by means of providing a proper number of half-length units at the end of each complete set of units, as appears in Figure 3.

The present; application is a continuation-inpart of application Serial No. 345,217, filed July 12, 1940, and entitled Portable deck; and diifers therefrom in the offset relationship of the flanges 2 and 3, whereby the interlocking devices are spaced below the upper surfaces of the webs I of the plates, to thereby provide a relatively smooth surface, with minor grooves at or near the interlocks. Accordingly the device of the present application provides less obstruction to traflic, etc. While I have shown and described a specific embodiment of the present invention, it will be understood that I do not wish to be limited exaptly thereto, since various modifications may be made without departing from the scope of the invention as defined by the appended claims.

I claim: I

1. A portable deck of the class described comprising a plurality of metallic plates for rapid attachment and detachment, each of said plates having a substantially fiat central portion and a substantially transversely fiat ofiset portion arranged substantially parallel to the central flat portion along the longitudinally extending edges of each of said plates and at opposite sides thereof, a continuous flange arranged along the extreme outer edge of one of said offset portions of each of said plates and which extends upwardly therefrom substantially perpendicular thereto and to the body of the plate so as to provide a continuous lip-like portion throughout the length of the edge of the plate, a pair of spaced apart continuous flange portions arranged along the extreme outer edge of the offset portion along the opposite side of each of said plates, so as to provide a jaw-like portion extending throughout the length or the plate having a constricted opening therebetween on the outer side thereof for receiving the edge of an adjacent plate, the first mentioned flange of each of said plates adapted to be inserted between the pair of spaced apart flanges of an adjacent plate, the plate is adapted to be rotated to substantially a horizontal position so that the plate is disposed in substantially a vertical plane between the pair of flanges after the plate has been rotated and moved to such horizontal and assembled position with the constricted opening between said pair of flanges adapted to prevent the first mentioned flange from passing therethrough when the plates are disposed in a horizontal plane, thereby securely locking the plates together and preventing disengagement of the same from each other, the bottom side of the offset portion of one of the plates adaptedto rest upon and be supported by the lowermost flange or jaw of the pair of flanges of an adjacent plate at a point adjacent the first mentioned flange and inwardly toward the center of the plate whereby a substantially rigid flat deck is provided capable of sustaining superposed loads with the interlocking means disposed below the main body of the plates so as to provide a substantially continuous even top surface.

2. A portable deck of the class described as defined in claim 1 wherein each flange of the pair of flanges arranged along one edge of, each of the plates which form a jaw-like portion is" substantially semi-circular in shape, in a transverse section.

GERALD G. GRE'ULICH. 

